How to Fix a Squeeky Subfloor

Handyman creates quick fix for tile floor

Taft Midway Driller - Taft, CA

Writer

Posted Feb. 5, 2013 at 3:56 PM

Posted Feb. 5, 2013 at 3:56 PM

When John Kriegshauser, of Chicago, Ill., regrouted his tile kitchen floor, he noticed that the plywood underlayment was flexing, which can cause new grout eventually to crack. To solve the problem, he modified a handful of underlayment ring-shank nails by grinding their heads to a slender T-shape profile (see inset photo) that was slightly narrower than the spaces between the tiles. He then drilled pilot holes in the grout spaces and, using a nail set, drove the modified nails through the plywood underlayment to secure it to the subfloor.